Millwall 2 v 1 Gillingham

Carling Cup, Round One

For more pictures, click on Millwall pictures

SUPER-DANE did it again as Millwall dumped Gillingham out of the Carling Cup in a tight affair at The Den.

Poul Hubertz came off the bench to deliver a sucker punch to Gills who had equalised Kevin Braniff's first half strike.

However Lions boss Nigel Spackman says hero Hubertz, who scored the weekend's winner against Oldham after starting the match as a substitute, is still not the finished article and will probably be on the bench at Cheltenham this Saturday.

Spackman said: "The big man came off the bench and got a great header but he still needs to improve for me.

"He has got to get used to the way the game is played with such passion over here and the work rate you have to have in this league."

He added: "He has been a little bit homesick as he has been trying to find a place for his girlfriend and kids to come over, which does not help.

"I cannot knock him for his goal against Oldham or his goal tonight, that is what we want from him, but I know there is so much more and he will get better and will be a major asset for us."

Spackman was full of praise for Braniff who now has two goals in three appearances this season.

He said: "I am very pleased Kevin got the first goal because he was absolutely outstanding tonight, he got a good goal but his all round performance was extremely good.

"The crowd can sense he is really putting in the effort and they have responded and he has responded to them which is fantastic."

However, on the performance as a whole Spackman was less complimentary.

He said: "I was pleased with the result but not the performance as we played too many long balls and did not play the pass and movement which we can.

"Cheltenham in the league is going to be a tough game and we need to go there with a much better performance than tonight and certainly a lot better performance than we showed at Chesterfield.

"We've got to start going away from home and making ourselves hard to beat.

"Against Chesterfield we were far too open and hopefully we have learnt from that but we'll find out on Saturday."

For the Gillingham match Spackman rested Richard Shaw, Derek McInnes and Marvin Williams with Zoumana Bakayoko, Samy Mawene and Braniff called up to start.

The majority of the first half was instantly forgettable aside from Chris Hackett's lively wing play on the right.

But after scything challenges which stopped him in his tracks and were probably worthy of yellow cards his input dwindled.

However, the match came to life on 39 minutes when Gills' central defender and Trinidad and Tobago World Cup star Brent Sancho slipped when accepting a back pass from Duncan Jupp.

The pacy Braniff nipped in and ran 20 yards before burying the ball low across Darren Randolph and into the far corner of the net.

Gillingham, for all their vociferous support, offered little in the first half but they came out for the second with renewed vigour.

On 52 minutes a quick Gills free-kick sent Matthew Jarvis clear and although Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu was in a perfect position for a shot on goal, Jarvis went for glory from an impossible angle and Paul Robinson blocked with ease.

Jupp was booked for a foul on Tom Brighton and moments later the crowd stood to applaud the arrival of the Danish sizzler Hubertz.

However, he could not stop Gillingham having their first meaningful attempt on goal when Pidgeley was called into action to superbly palm away Michael Flynn's deflected shot.

Jarvis then weaved his way into the penalty area only for Robinson to block his shot for a corner.

Robinson, skipper for the night, and Pidgeley then had a bizarre altercation with each other which appeared to unnerve the defence as from the corner, Gills substitute Andrew Crofts headed the visitors level.

In the melee of celebration, Robinson was booked for either kicking the ball away or dissent.

The travelling fans were now even louder than they had been before the equaliser but Millwall responded by forcing their own corner.

Enter Hubertz and the giant Dane rose highest on the penalty spot to guide the ball past Randolph for 2-1.

Braniff stupidly got himself booked for dissent moments later but it could have been a lot worse for Millwall.

With seconds remaining Zak Whitbread's back pass for Pidgeley cannoned off Robinson into the path of Gills' second substitute Gary Mulligan.

The tall striker was one-on-one with Pidgeley but as he checked to go round the keeper for a clear shot on goal, Pidgeley somehow stretched out a hand and knocked the ball away.

It was the last chance for Gills and now Millwall are in the hat for round two which will be drawn on Saturday.

Spackman said: "We had to make changes as Bakayoko got cramp towards the end, Neal Ardley is still struggling with his rib injury and had to come off at half time and Morais got a bash on his nose so we'll have to see if it is broken.

"But we got on with it and we will take the win but we can pass the ball a lot better than we did tonight.

"I cannot fault the effort and work rate but we need to get better if we are to progress."

MATCH FACTS

MILLWALL: Pidgeley, 7; Ross, 6; Elliott, 6; Robinson, 8; Whitbread, 5; Hackett, 7; Brighton, 6; Braniff, 7; Ardley, 6 (Morais, 45); Mawene, 6 (Hubertz, 66); Bakayoko, 6 (Craig, 78).

SUBS NOT USED: Day, Fuseini.

ATT: 5,040.